It wasn't just the stairwell that got that famous, earthy delay sound though. I remember playing it back in the Stones' mobile truck and thinking, 'Bonzo's gotta f**king like this! I got a couple of microphones and put them up the first set of the stairs." "One night Zeppelin were all going down the boozer and I said, 'You guys bugger off but Bonzo, you stay behind because I've got an idea.' So we took his kit out of the room where the other guys had been recording and stuck it in this lobby area. What was the process behind achieving that sound? When The Levee Breaks put Bonham centre stage, held down by that monstrous 26" Ludwig bass drum. I got a couple of microphones and put them up the first set of the stairs" "We took Bonham's kit and stuck it in this lobby area. "I never had Bonzo turn round to me and say, 'oh that's a great drum sound, Andy.' He'd just say, 'There's not enough 'frudge' on the bass drum.' That was his word and I knew exactly what he meant by 'frudge'." John Bonham was famous for his very particular drum sound. I had recorded the whole thing using just two mics including vocals, guitar and Ginger Baker's drums. "I'd been using very few mics on tracks like Can't Find My Way Home by Blind Faith. What was your approach to recording at that time? We did a few tracks there including When The Levee Breaks, Rock And Roll and Boogie With Stu. I'm going to find something better than that.' And he found Headley Grange, which was rather fortunate. "He said: 'I'm not giving Mick Jagger a thousand pounds a week for his place. "We were getting ready to do the next Led Zeppelin album and I said to Jimmy Page: 'Why don't we use the Stones' truck and we'll go to Mick's house?' So Jimmy says: 'How much will that cost?' It worked out to be the same as a regular studio and a thousand pounds a week for Mick's house. It was a lot of fun and you got so many different spaces and it was better than being stuck in some airless, windowless room. I had done the Stones' album Sticky Fingers and I had also done two other album projects at Mick's house, Stargroves, with the truck and I really liked it. "The Rolling Stones had the first mobile recording unit in Europe. Where did you kick off the sessions for Led Zep IV?
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